People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 531: Can’t a three-meter-high city wall stop the Ming army?

This deputy general once escorted food and grass together with the general defending the city and handed them over to the Ming army. At that time, they saw that the reason why the Ming army was so powerful was that they had such a powerful weapon.

With such a powerful weapon, to be honest, no one can get close to them.

If such a powerful weapon were to come to Sanfuqi, it would be infinitely magnified.

Because these generals knew their own situation very well. Although their situation was slightly better than that of the defeated Majapahit, it was still limited.

The most important thing is that it does not have any geographical advantages.

Most of the Majapahit Kingdom is made up of primitive forests and mountains.

That situation would certainly be laughed at by the people of Sanfuqi, a group of savages living in the mountains and forests.

But it must be said that although they live in the mountains and forests, because of such advantages, the Ming army will definitely pay a high price if they want to destroy such a country.

However, these advantages are completely absent in sriracha.

At that time, Srivijaya had the advantage of plains, and the developed agriculture produced much more grain than Majapahit, but this terrain was too friendly for cannons and muskets.

Their muskets and artillery did not need to be blocked in the forest and could be fired directly.

The most important thing is that the ground is flat and people can ride horses to drag the artillery over and then fire.

The soldiers defending the city didn't even have anywhere to hide.

Therefore, the deputy general understood very well that the gap between his own army and the Ming army was even greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

It was precisely because of this that when he heard these clan leaders sitting here and talking about how they could keep the Ming army out by simply closing the city gates, he wanted to laugh. He didn't know what was in the brains of these people and how they could have such childish ideas.

If such a city wall could have been used to stop the Ming army, the capital would not have fallen, and the entire Sanfuqi would not have been occupied by others.

These people clearly know this situation but are unwilling to admit it, and even dream about it behind closed doors.

The deputy general was about to give a reminder, but he heard one of the clan leaders say impatiently: "What's the matter with you coming to the City Lord's Mansion? You keep saying that the Ming army is already outside the city gate. Do you want to shake the morale of the army?"

These family patriarchs, like the literati, are very distrustful of military generals.

It is probably believed that only military generals would launch rebellions, so the forces that can suppress military generals will never be lenient.

The status of the military generals in Mandala City is actually very embarrassing.

If you say they have rights, it seems that they do, but when it comes to actually doing things they have to obey the city lord and these clan leaders completely.

Yes!

The generals who originally belonged to the imperial court actually had to obey the orders of certain patriarchs of powerful families in the local area.

This is such a great irony.

But this is indeed the case in Sanfuqi.

Because many government offices in Srivijaya are funded by these families.

The little money given by the court was not enough for those officials to enjoy a life of luxury while visiting brothels and casinos.

In addition to salaries, additional sources of income are provided by families, which gives many families the right to directly bypass officialdom and participate in politics.

Such a political environment has created a high status for these families, while those who actually do things can only come behind them.

The deputy general in front of him was very worried about the situation at the city gate at first. Now seeing that these big guys were not worried, he laughed at himself and said: It's not our city.

No matter how well defended Mandala City is, they will be the ones who benefit in the future. Even if we die, it will be in vain. In this case, I will not be in a hurry.

So he said slowly: "It's nothing serious. There is just a man coming from the city gate who claims to be an envoy from the imperial court and wants to enter the city immediately. The general saw this situation and sent me here to ask the city lord what he meant."

The city lord sat on the main seat and didn't take it seriously: "I don't think it's a big deal, what court? They are all people from the Ming Dynasty. Just don't let them in."

The city lord said it so easily but others were a little skeptical.

The other clan leaders also said generously: "Go and tell the so-called imperial envoys that we have no objection to the Ming Dynasty ruling other cities, but Mandala City is ours and they cannot get involved. Tell them to get lost."

"Haha... That's right. Mandala City is ours. How can we allow the so-called Ming Dynasty to interfere?"

"Wouldn't the Ming Dynasty lose face if this happened?"

When someone said this, a clan leader laughed while eating fruits and said, "When they came to our Mandala City to promote the so-called new policy and were driven out by us, they had already lost face. Why do they want to regain their face now?
Isn’t there a very good saying that face is earned by oneself, not given by others? "

In their eyes, the current Ming Dynasty is just throwing its face to the ground.

Knowing clearly that he does not have the strength to do so, he still insists on attacking such a solid city wall. Isn't this just asking for humiliation?
When hearing what these people said, the deputy general finally understood why they were so arrogant. It turned out that they had always believed that even if the Ming Dynasty's army was a little stronger, it would not be able to break through their so-called cognition.

This is probably because these people have been in contact with pirates for many years, especially pirate kings like Chen Zuyi.

Once Chen Zuyi came to the Mandala City in Sanfuji, he actually exclaimed that the city of Mandala was more solid than any city in any country in Southeast Asia.

At that time, no one knew whether Chen Zuyi was drunk or wanted to flatter the big families in Mandala City so as to get more food and military pay from these families.

When the patriarchs of these families heard this, they were indeed very happy.

They even felt proud of themselves and thought, Who is Chen Zuyi?

He is the pirate king who is invincible in all the countries in Southeast Asia. How could what he says be false?
Such a big shot must be very serious and recognize his own city, otherwise he would not say such words.

I guess this incident gave these characters higher expectations.

So these people don’t even know their last names.

I actually believed such nonsense.

At first, the deputy general thought that there was something wrong with his ears and he must have heard it wrong, but now that he thinks about it, it seems that this is something these people could really do.

After all, in order to demonstrate their power, they can actually have four or five managers stand at the door to embarrass those who want to report emergencies.

You can imagine how arrogant and domineering he is in normal times.

Now with the fall of the capital of Sanfuqi, they even thought that Mandala City was the largest and most fortified city in the entire Sanfuqi. In their eyes, such a strong city was already invincible in the world, so of course they did not take the Ming Dynasty seriously.

The old patriarch of the Alu family, who was once the defender of Mandala City, has long been enjoying the happiness of family life with his children and grandchildren. After hearing this, he was a general after all, so he immediately asked: "How many people are they?"

This is the real truth. No one has ever asked this question from the beginning to the end.

I guess in their minds, no matter how many people from the Ming Dynasty come this time, they are asking for humiliation, so it is not worth it to ask such stupid questions.

The old patriarch was still a little worried.

Although he also thought that the city wall he built was superior, it was lower than any defense.

But his military instinct still made him ask this question.

The deputy general was relatively accepting of the old patriarch's question.

Although the old patriarch was definitely a man who was used to being high and mighty, he did not necessarily sincerely believe that the current Ming Dynasty was really capable of breaking through his city, but out of military instinct he still asked a relatively professional question.

The deputy general replied: "Probably only about four or five hundred people."

Hahaha……

When the deputy general finished saying this, he heard everyone present laughing with their heads raised. They laughed so wildly, as if these people from the Ming Dynasty were here to die.

Before the deputy general understood what they were laughing at, he heard the old clan leader stroke his beard and say, "I thought the Ming Dynasty was so cautious, but I didn't expect them to be so careless. I really overestimated them before.

I am also a veteran of the battlefield. Let me just talk about our Mandala City. It took more than 3,000 people more than a year to build it. Don’t be fooled by the earth walls, a lot of glutinous rice was poured inside.

The hardness of such a city wall can be compared to that of stone.

Do you know who made the city wall using so much glutinous rice?"

As he spoke, the old patriarch looked at the patriarchs present.

The deputy general was about to roll his eyes.

I originally thought that the old patriarch was a relatively cautious person, but I didn't expect him to be this kind of person.

You say this just to draw out the credit of these people.

What you actually want to tell me is not to forget the contributions of these people?

Sure enough, after hearing the old patriarch's words, the clan leaders present held their heads high and puffed out their chests, looking like children who were being praised.

Then I even heard a clan leader say: "Old clan leader, you are so polite. We only donated a little bit of glutinous rice back then. It was because of your good command that the wall we left was built so magnificently."

Other clan leaders also complimented him: "Old clan leader, you have done a great deed. Under the protection of this solid wall, the people of Mandala City can live a good life.

At that time, many bandits rushed down from the mountains to rob our Mandala City, but they were blocked by this solid wall and could only wail at the wall. "

Hahaha……

They all wanted to laugh when they thought of that scene.

This happened the year before last, when no less than a thousand bandits attempted to storm into Mandala City and rob it.

But at that time, the city of Mandala had no preparations at all. It just closed the city gates. The robbers could only shout and curse outside the wall, and then return in disappointment after dawn.

This was the first time that the city wall performed a great service.

It is precisely because of the more than one thousand bandits that we now hear that only four or five hundred people from the Ming Dynasty have arrived. Isn't this asking for humiliation?
However, one clan leader immediately said, "I get angry when I think about this. The walls built by our clans protect those stinky people, and those people are actually very interested in the so-called reforms of the Ming Dynasty.

Bah! They don't even know who is responsible for their lives."

Everyone got very angry when this matter was mentioned.

In their eyes, these people are ungrateful.

Especially in their eyes, when the robbers were about to come to their door, it was the city wall they built that prevented the robbers from coming in, so the people must be grateful.

After hearing this, the deputy general's disgust at their shamelessness reached a new level.

So you guys just contributed some money, and dozens of ordinary people died in building this wall, and that’s nothing?
What a joke.

The old patriarch actually said, "Alright, no need to say more. We all know. We have already made a decision on this matter. We don't plan to negotiate with them. We have sufficient food and grass in Mandala City, enough for us to support for two or three months. If they come, will they all eat grass without food? Go with peace of mind. As long as you don't open the city gate, Mandala City will be safe."

The deputy general was anxious. He didn't expect the old man to say such a thing. "Old General, they have brought a lot of weapons now, even two cannons that can blow down a mountain from a few miles away. Don't we take such strength seriously?"

Hearing this, the old patriarch smiled confidently and said, "I have long said that you should not blindly believe others. You people will never understand these tricks. You just believe them when they say they can hit that far.

Do you believe me when I say I can fly?"

As soon as these words came out, many people present burst into laughter.

Someone even said: "Old Patriarch, don't tell me, if you really say you can fly, I will believe it."

The atmosphere in the hall immediately became lively after everyone said this.

The deputy general never thought that the old general, who was once so serious, could mingle with these people today and even mock them mercilessly.

They saw the Ming Dynasty's artillery firing with their own eyes.

Although I didn't see it up close, I could see that the Majapahit army was like being hit by a meteorite. They were all flying up into the air, and there were even fragments flying in the sky.

Such a scene will never be forgotten even in a lifetime, but why don’t these people believe it?
Especially since the old patriarch was a former general, how could he be so arrogant?
"If you don't believe me, you can go to the city gate tower and feel it for yourself. Although they have less than 500 people, they are so powerful that it feels like there are thousands of them. We really can't defend it. If the clan leaders are so confident, we can go to the city wall and take a look.

As long as you show up, the soldiers will be encouraged and their determination to defend the city will be even stronger."

This made a lot of sense. After weighing the pros and cons, several clan leaders finally decided: "Okay, we'll go with you to take a look!!"

……

(End of this chapter)